Ricardo has been announced by Forbes as one of America’s leading management consulting firms for the automotive sector, with especially high numbers of client recommendations.

Ricardo can today reveal that it is listed in the Forbes America’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2016, a list identifying which management consultancies are providing business sectors with the best guidance on their practice. To compile this list of America’s Best Management Consulting Firms, Forbes collaborated with online statistics provider Statista. Ricardo is pleased to note that the survey results for the automotive sector, which include data from both colleagues and clients, identifies Ricardo as having a disproportionately high number of client recommendations.

“In an era with a record number of global automotive product introductions and challenging regulatory targets, Ricardo has a strong commitment to quality, innovation and performance,” said Markus Doerr, global managing director of Ricardo Strategic Consulting. “We’re honored to be recognized for our ability to support our clients. The Forbes America’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2016 list allows us to recognize and thank our specialized teams of management and engineering consultants, scientists and technology specialists.”

Between 2017 and 2019, the automotive industry will experience an unprecedented level of vehicle launches. There are a number of factors that are driving this increase in new launch activity, including legislative requirements – such as the new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) and crashworthiness standards – as well as the introduction of advanced technologies, such as driver assistance and infotainment systems. Legislation and technology, coupled with increased consumer demands, put additional pressures on the supply chain to deliver high-quality and high-functioning vehicles to market. Ricardo recently published a white paper, ‘Launch Readiness: Driving quality throughout the manufacturing supply chain’ that can be found at www.ricardo.com/launchservices.

The U.S. automotive aftermarket is a $240 billion business that many automakers rely on to strengthen their bottom line. While new car sales continue to deliver slim profit margins, aftermarket sales generate up to one-half of profits for major automakers while accounting for only one-third of total revenue. Market forces may impact the vehicle industry's ability to maintain high-level customer service and maximize aftermarket profitability. Ricardo has published a white paper covering practices that should be considered, including a case study: ‘Production to aftermarket: Transition services’ that can be found at www.ricardo.com/transitionservices.

Ricardo teams at the company’s Detroit Technology Campus in Van Buren Township, Michigan, are leaders in benchmarking of electrified vehicles. Engineers and technical specialists at Ricardo have already benchmarked more than 12 hybrid electric and battery vehicles including Volkswagen e-Golf, BMW i3, Chevy Volt and Tesla Model S. Information from these services help automotive OEMs and their suppliers understand how technology is advancing and help identify technology roadmaps for their products.

Ricardo’s client list includes the world's major transportation original equipment manufacturers and supply chain organizations, from start-up organizations to long-standing market leaders. The company delivers a unique combination of consulting support which combines strategic consulting with deep automotive technology specialization and niche manufacturing.

“I am pleased and deeply honoured to receive this award on behalf of the Ricardo team - as we recently finished celebrating our 100 year anniversary,” said Ricardo plc CEO Dave Shemmans, “I and my Ricardo colleagues in all parts of the world look forward to continuing to strive for excellence and innovation as we start our next century.”

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